User Granularity
FIG. 1a shows a network 100 having an access node 101a. An access node 101a acts as an reception point for traffic being sent into the network 100 and a transmission point for traffic being sent from the network 100. Typically those that are sending/receiving traffic into/from the network may be referred to as “users” of the network.
A wide range of different users may exist. That is, some users may send/receive large amounts of traffic to/from the network 100 while other users may send/receive small amounts of traffic to/from the network 100. For example, the access node 101a may be asked to provide access for the traffic from/to a large industrial campus while simultaneously providing access for the traffic from/to a single person within his or her own home.
FIG. 1a attempts to show a wide range of different users being serviced by access node 101a. Note that, as an example, access node 101a has four OC-12 network lines 102a, 104a, 115a, 117a. Each OC-12 network line corresponds to a 622 Mb/s line. The traffic carried by these network lines 102a, 104a, 115a, 117a may be reduced to varying degrees of granularity depending on the users the access node 101a is configured to provide access for.
For example, in the exemplary deployment of FIG. 1a, network line 117a corresponds to traffic being delivered to a single user. As such, the user coupled to network line 117a consumes 622 Mb/s worth of traffic. By contrast, note that network line 102a provides service for three hundred and thirty six different users. That is, multiplexer 103 reduces the 622 Mb/s network line 102a into three hundred and thirty six individual DS1 lines 1061 through 106336 that each provide 1.544 Mb/s worth of service to a different user.
Network lines 115a, 104a are reduced into degrees of granularity that fall between the degrees that network lines 117a and 102a are resolved. That is, multiplexer 116 reduces network line 115a into four individual OC-3 lines that each provide 155.52 Mb/s worth of service to a different user. Multiplexers 105, 108, 110, 112,113, 114 together reduce network line 104a into: 1) two OC-3 lines 1071, 1072 that provide 155.52 Mb/s worth of service to two different users; 2) three DS3 lines 1091, 1092, 1093 that provide 44.736 Mb/s worth of service to three different users; and 3) eighty four DS1 lines 1111 through 11184 that provide 1.544 Mb/s worth of service to eighty four different users.
Thus, noting the wide range of granularity that may exist per network line: network line 117a has one user, network line 115a has four users, network line 104a has eighty nine users, and network line 102a has three hundred and thirty six users. Access node 101a is responsible for controlling information flow to/from each user on an independent basis (e.g., for proper billing, etc.). Thus, access node 101a is responsible for “keeping track of” individual users over a wide spectrum of granularities.